The Colossae-- Man's Fallen Nature

 You may have heard me say it, "If you don't believe in the fallen nature of mankind, you aren't paying attention." Mankind is indeed fallen. Take the great ancient building the Colossae, or we call it, the Coliseum. 

Think abut this beautiful structure. It was built for the entertainment of the masses and was quite effective. Of course that entertainment was to watch man and beast fight to the death. Likely it was a gory spectacle that was, well to be honest, greatly enjoyed by the spectators.

It is easy to condemn such barbary. After all, we have come a long way since the days of the gladiators. Yes, we have aborted 60 million babies in the USA, so maybe we are a bit hasty. We find our entertainment in more civilized venues such as the pornography industry.

Sad to say, we are a fallen people who can find a means to enjoy our sinful natures. And the temptation comes to us all.

Of course Christians suffered in the Colossae also. Many died simply to entertain others. 

L^rd save us from our natural bent. Forgive us and change us by the power of Christ's blood.

As we look towards 2022 in just a couple more days, let us resolve to follow Christ more closely in every aspect of our lives.

Are those Cookies?

 When we were at the Wellness Week back in early October, one of our friends gave us a class on fancy cookie making. I have never seen such artistry in the kitchen. See what I mean

Have you ever seen such a sight? We ate them and they tasted good too. I am tempted to say that tasted as good as they look, but that would be nigh impossible.

It is amazing the beauty that G^d put in the world, and that He gave us an appreciation for things that are beautiful. It is amazing too that in our imago dei, we can also be creative, sometimes unusually so, as seen in our cookie-making friend.

She talked a bit about commercializing her art, but I am guessing she would have to charge about $20-30 per cookie to make a profit. So, don't be looking for these in your nearest Walmart.

But enjoy seeing them right here.

Thanks be to G^d for gifting some people so mightily!

A Christmas Wish

 Another year, another Christmas--let us not miss the meaning of it.

In our highly commercial society, it is so very easy to lose sight of the true Christmas. You get tired of reading diatribes like this one, but the point is important. As I have quoted Ben T. before, "Our biggest problem has already been solved!" That is the true present, and one well worth celebrating.

As I enjoy my 71st Christmas I realize that it is so easy for me, and you, to be caught up in "the here and now". The bills must be paid, the leaves raked, the cooking done. We are so very distracted. Yes, we are like the disciples, and perhaps more like the Scribes and Pharisees. We want the good times rolling NOW!

For those who know the Christ, we have a better alternative. We can set our minds on what is above. We can endeavor to focus on the immortal nature of mankind, including ourselves. We can choose to rejoice that our future is secure, and that G^d's greatest gift has been received.

So amidst the hustle and bustle, amidst the gifts and decorations, let us all take time to thank the L^rd our G^d for Jesus the Christ, the "reason for the season", the "Greatest Gift" and the Savior of the World.

Thank you L^rd!

Traveling to WI

 In late Oct, Brenda and I drove from Charleston, SC to Eau Claire, WI. We stopped along the way and visited with friends in Champaign and in La Crosse.

In Champaign we had dinner with the Dean of the Graduate School, Univ. of IL. Wojtek and I were friends in the late 1980's and we ran together every day.

Woj married a prof from Brazil in 2009 and here are there 4 kids. What a beautiful family!

And speaking of beautiful families, take a look at this.

This is the Buckner kids whose parents, Stephen and Alicia, used to go to Grace Church.

And, speaking of lovely, take a look at these views from Grandad's Bluff, La Crosse, WI.

And, speaking of lovely, this chest of drawers was handmade by Stephen Buckner. That's some talent.

And the drive, from North Carolina to upstate WI, was lined by beautiful leaves. Take a look.

God is good and his mercy towards us was/is amazing. Thanks be to Him!

Root Causes of Slavery

In Matthew 7, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus warns us against judging others. So as we heard of the sad sinful actions of slave owners in the USA, I was alerted to the idea that likewise we are likely making similar mistakes today, which we overlook. In Jer. 17 we learn that “The heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it?” This provoked me to look for the underlying sin.

What would you guess as the underlying sin of enslaving other humans?

I look to Scripture for an answer. I Tim 6:9-10 comes to mind. It tells us that,”…the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” Could this be the root cause? Certainly having an abundance of “free” labor would enhance the profits of most enterprises. We learned that slaves were valued the highest at 20 years of age and the value fell in either direction from there. Slaves with special skills drew higher prices and some cost as much as $35-40, 000 in today’s dollars.

In my personal experience I have come to see greed as a major human weakness. Everybody seems to want “ just a little more money”.  I am guilty and I share this temptation with many.

My goal is to learn from past mistakes and NOT repeat them. I know that greed is a root cause of the sin of slavery and I need to be constantly on guard so as not to fall into the same temptation.

May G^d have mercy on us all.

Black History in the Deep South

 Brenda and I got to see some interesting and some extremely sad things in Charleston. We visited the old “Slave Mart Museum” that explained a lot about the trading of USA-born slaves. First we were shocked to learn that the USA only accounted for 4.6% of the African slave trade. South American imported about 50% of all the African slaves brought across the Atlantic. The Caribbean and Central America imported about 43% of the slaves and the balance mostly went to Mexico.  Who knew?

For a few years after the US Civil War, the freed slaves were given a full slate of rights as free people, but that era was short-lived and oppression returned. There were many African led and populated churches during that period and many Africans were elected to political office. Some attained considerable wealth. But the backlash against Reconstruction resulted in a return to great oppression against Africans. It must have been especially hard to experience this severe repression after having tasted real freedom just before.

In the midst of suffering so many stepped out to lead so well. For example, Septima Clark and many other people of color did heroic service for their country. On a boat tour of Fort Sumter we learned of the valor of the 54^th Massachusetts, the black regiment who fought bravely on Morris Island near Fort Sumpter.

So even in this great sadness there were many people who acted heroically and sacrificially. Let us not forget those people.

 

A Little bit of Black History

Brenda and I just spent 4 days studying Black history. I started by reading two books: Voices of Black South Carolina by Damon Fordham, and Black Charlestonians, a Social History 1822-1885 by Bernard Powers. These were very enlightening given that our education did not include any Black history.

From all we learned, it is clear that slavery, as practiced in Charleston and in South Carolina, and most of the US south was a heinous evil. Perhaps the saddest issue was the separation of family members in slave trades. The church’s disregard for these evils was likewise extremely disappointing.

One thing particularly caught us off-guard. We were shocked to read that freed blacks also sometimes owned slaves. Let that sink in a minute. That really surprised me and I am not sure what to make of this.

There were some more surprises, but I’ll save those for another post.

Beauty from Tiny Pieces of Glass

 

It is hard to believe, but this bluebird is made up of thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of glass.

Here is how he started out:

These are colored glass rods. They are very small and drawn from larger pieces of glass. Not all the art is made from glass, some is made of colored rock. Here are a few more mosaics.

But of the greatest work of art are the people who make these beauties. This is a family business in Florence, IT and these folks are siblings.

What a tremendous G^d who can create such artists!

A truly MOVING testimony

 Some of our friends are still working to help Christian Afghanis escape from Afghanistan. While we were in Roma, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting two outstanding brothers in Christ who had fled Afghanistan several years before. Both of these men had great testimonies, but the guy on the left had one of the most fascinating testimonies we have ever heard.

I can't recall all he said, and I wish I had written it down. Part of his escape from Afghanistan involved clinging to the underside of a truck for about two hours! He noted that when he finished that ride, passersby looked at him probably wondering how he had gotten so dirty and disheveled. I guess riding under a truck on dirt roads will do that for you.

After some time in Norway they wound up in Roma, where The Bridges ministry of Agape Italia took them in and led them both to Christ. Our hero had never finished high school, so Agape got him enrolled in Roma. This year is his senior year and his classmates elected him Class President!  Go figure.

Again, G^d blessed us to hear these stories and meet these two fine young men. They fixed us some authentic Afghani food. It was delicious--but not as delicious as our fellowship with these two brothers in Christ.

A GREAT Week at the Beach

Brenda and I are, as I write this, driving back from Laguna Beach Christian Retreat. We have just finished our third “Wellness Week” with a group of 11 Christian singles from MI, IN, TN, AL, and NC. I spoke there 5 times on Wellness, using principles from the Bible and from the book I authored with Walt Larimore.

This was the best time ever. The October weather was near idea. Every sunset was clear and beautiful. The waves were flatter than usual in the spring and summer. For whatever reason—most likely due the prayers of our friends—the talks went over better than ever. It was fun to speak to such a great, attentive, loving group of people.

They played several games of water volleyball, and we all did the Toumey 5k, and most of us took some great long walks on the beach. Likewise we ate a lot of great seafood at restaurants far fancier than Brenda and I would choose by ourselves. But, Don paid for all of our meals out but one. We bought his on that evening.

We truly love gathering with this terrific group. We pray, and hope you will join with us, that G^d will use these folks powerfully in their wellness and service to Him.

Blessings to all.